It's with great sadness that we report that Sir Patrick Stewart, the famed actor of numerous movies, shows, and stage plays, including beloved turns as Captain Jean-Luc Picard in Star Trek and Professor Xavier in the X-Men films, has died. He was 86 years old.
Deadline reported the news, along with an official statement confirming Stewart's death on October 28 from the actor's representative:
“We announce with great sorrow the passing of Sir Patrick Stewart yesterday at his home in Los Angeles, in the loving care of his beloved wife Sunny, following a brief and poignant journey with Alzheimer’s Disease and Lewy Body Dementia,” the statement reads. “He has been held in the warm embrace of family and friends, surrounded by live music, prayer, tears, laughter, and the kind of profound emotion that only he could inspire after a lifetime of devotion to us all. We will forever cherish the peaceful ease and reflection on his face, an enduring reminder of his invincible grace.”
Patrick Stewart leaves behind as full a legacy as any actor could hope for
While Stewart lived a long and very full life, with numerous accolades and performances that touched the lives of millions of people, it's still shocking to imagine that he's actually gone. The actor has been such a fixture for many genre fans especially, going all the way back to his debut as Jean-Luc Picard on the pilot episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation in 1987. Literal generations of Trekkies have grown up with Stewart's reassuring presence as one of the most beloved Starfleet captains of all time, and that's not even getting into his incredible legacy as Professor X, or the extensive stage work he did over his nearly six decades as a working actor.
We often fall back to the Night's Watch ceremonial goodbye at Winter Is Coming when reporting on this kind of news, "We shall never see his like again," but in the case of Patrick Stewart it feels especially true. He was a singular actor, and it will feel very different seeing his final performance as Professor X in the upcoming Avengers: Doomsday now, or reading his New York Times bestselling memoir Making It So, or returning to the many, many hours of television and film he left behind that will continue his legacy for years to come. But one thing I'm certain of is that we will return to those projects, time and again, as we remember one of the finest actors of our time.
To read a full breakdown of Sir Patrick Stewart's far-ranging career and the many honors he received throughout it, I'd highly recommend checking out this beautiful write-up by Greg Evans over at Deadline.
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